Royals call up Perez, release Davies

Royals call up Perez, release Davies

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - The Kansas City Royals have purchased the contract of catcher Salvador Perez from Triple-A Omaha.

The move was made before Wednesday night's game against Tampa Bay.

The 21-year old Perez hit .333 with one homer and 10 RBI in 12 games at Omaha after being promoted from Double-A Northwest Arkansas. He was batting seventh against the Rays.

"We'll get him in there as much as we can," Kansas City manager Ned Yost said. "He's got a chance to be really good. He's a young kid, but he's got tremendous tools. Very athletic. He throws as good as any young catcher I've ever seen. Has a real feel for calling a game."

"With Pena going on paternity leave, it was a good time to get Salvador up here," Yost said. "Gives him a chance to get seven weeks of experience instead of four. We were looking at bringing him up in September, anyway. Take advantage of the three weeks and get a better gauge going into next year of exactly what we have."

Pena returned home Wednesday to Miami for the birth of his child and is expected to rejoin the team Friday.

Davies was on the 15-day disabled list because of a right shoulder injury. His release opened a spot on the 40-man roster for Perez.

"We looked at Kyle, he's going to be a free agent at the end of the year," Yost said. "By the time he got back, would probably be late September, and the odds of him pitching again for us were probably not very great."